Letter: Food-stamp 'fraud' overblown

Recently announced legislation to require photo identification for food stamp recipients would target a nonexistent problem and turn a basic human need — hunger — into a partisan issue.

State Auditor Dave Yost, Rep. Tim Schaffer of Lancaster and Sen. Matt Huffman of Lima have proposed that electronic benefit transfer cards for the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program include photographs of at least one member of the household to which the card is issued. Based on a June 2015 audit, Yost claims this is necessary in order to curb fraud because, “The error rate for the food-stamp program in Ohio is almost 5 percent.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, error rates measure whether benefits provided to SNAP participants are accurate, not whether they are too high or too low. Errors are often due to data entry mistakes, lack of documentation or typos by the state agency or household — not intentional actions.

Error rates are not fraud rates. And error rates would be unaffected by a photograph.

We applaud efforts to ensure public money is stewarded efficiently. However, SNAP integrity is at record levels. Less than 1 percent of benefits go to households that should have been found ineligible.

According to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, questionable costs found by the audit constitute just 0.00012 percent of the total cost of the program.